This case study looks at the work to develop initiatives to diversify Warwick University Library's collections, spaces and services, carried out in conjunction with our key student partners, Warwick's Library Associates. It explores the origins of the voluntary Library Associates scheme, with an emphasis on working in true partnership with…

In this chapter, we explore the organizational units, projects, and support that exist for digital literacy within the Vanderbilt University Library system. We frame the chapter chronologically, starting with the efforts of the past, then moving toward the present efforts, and concluding with where future efforts are going.

In 1966 the photographer Martine Franck was commissioned by "Life International" to document the experiences of children in a new library in Paris. The visual essay she produced illuminated the materiality, the design and the children's use of the space. In Birmingham, a recent unconnected research project, 'Libraries in Women's Lives',…

This article provides an account of the making of KBLab, the data lab at the National Library of Sweden (KB). The first part discusses the work involved in establishing a lab as both a physical and a digital site for researchers to use digital collections at previously unimaginable scales. The second part explains how the lab has deployed the…

Multimedia information fusion technology is currently a popular technology for data processing. The advanced productivity it brings is dozens of times that of traditional data information processing. The collected and processed information is not only efficient and accurate, but also has strong scalability. With the continuous development of…

Since the invention of artificial light, people have been working, studying, and playing for longer hours than ever before. They are also sleeping less as a result. This article examines the impact of sleep deprivation on people generally, and specifically on college students. Students accrue a large sleep debt that impairs their ability to…

The University of North Dakota (UND) Libraries have developed a multi-award winning Customer Service Program (CSP) involving longitudinal assessment and continuous improvement. The CSP consists of iterative training modules; constant reinforcement of Customer Service Principles with multiple communication strategies and tools, and incentives that…

Gamification, the application of game elements to nongame contexts, was recently a subject of great interest in the library literature, inspiring a number of articles. That interest tapered off in tandem with gamification's wider decline, but signs point to its reemergence. Anticipating renewed interest in gamification, the authors reviewed the…

Bent on improving the teaching and learning experience, enhancing the productivity of researchers, and increasing the visibility of research outputs, libraries are redistributing staff, reallocating resources, and reorganizing internal structures, all to better partner campus-wide. Nowhere is the impact of this push for service innovation and user…

James Neal begins this essay with the introduction of the 1996 paper, "Choosing Our Futures," by calling it a provocation, and a call to arms for the academic library community to challenge complacency and move forward toward fundamental change. Neal writes here that in the context of extraordinary economic pressures, the early…

This essay proposes that librarians practice ethical consumption when purchasing electronic devices. Though librarians have long been engaged with environmentalism and social justice, few have suggested that such issues as e-waste and sweatshop labor should impact our decisions to acquire e-readers, tablets, and other electronics. This article…

Libraries and archives digitize their special collections in an effort to increase access to rare and unique items. To ensure that resulting digital collections meet user needs, institutions have made assessment, consultation, and user participation integral to digitization initiatives and the selection process. Institutions must also build…

With the growing number of online courses and programs across the higher education spectrum, the need to train faculty to effectively design and deliver online courses has become essential to many institutions. However, many professional development options do not include information or support in order to transition the same library services and…

Academic institutions have long supported stand-alone branch libraries devoted to fine arts, architecture, and other allied fields. As subject specific collecting on campuses has been decentralized by collaborative collection development, consortial borrowing, and the quick availability of materials in both digital and print formats, the need for…

This article reflects on the first eighteen months of a long-term project to digitize a large and still-growing postcard collection. The project is notable for its use of student workers, developing an active donor base, establishing a significant online presence, and igniting interest in, use of, and donations to the collection itself. Throughout…